Coretta Scott King Book Awards to Mark 50 years of Honoring the Best in Children and Youth Literature Celebrating the Black experience

It’s a celebration! The entire year of 2019 marks the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards. What a milestone! The CSK Book Awards have enlarged the prominence of literature for children and youth about the Black experience and heightened the work of our author and illustrator winners and honorees. Your support has been unwavering, and you have empowered the CSK Book Awards to endure for 50 years.

We are excited to announce the CSK Books Awards: 50 Years Strong Anniversary website. Please visit often. You will find updates and announcements from the planning team. Feel free to access the Fact Sheet, Press Release template, Public Service Announcement (PSA) template, and Talking Points to use for your CSK 50 programs and presentations. If you will be presenting a CSK 50 program, let us know via email at diversity@ala.org.

Using the hashtag, #CSK50 on social media, share with us your favorite moments from past Coretta Scott King Book Awards breakfasts, Coretta Scott King Book Award titles that you and your library cherish, or what this award means to you as a library worker, educator, student, reader, or writer. Plan on attending ALA Annual 2019 in Washington, D.C., to celebrate with us in person!

We will have a Commemorative CSK 50th Anniversary T-Shirt on sale at the ALA store. The Commemorative CSK 50th Anniversary Lapel Pin (item #5302-1911) is presently on sale at the ALA store. The sixth edition of the CSK Book Awards publication will also be available at the ALA store soon. Purchase these beautiful keepsake items for you, colleagues, family, and friends. The ALA store website is https://www.alastore.ala.org/.

Let’s celebrate CSK 50 Years Strong!

Cheers,

Dr. Claudette S. McLinn, Chair

Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee

Dr. Claudette McLinn is Chair of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee. She is the Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature.

One thought on “Coretta Scott King Book Awards to Mark 50 years of Honoring the Best in Children and Youth Literature Celebrating the Black experience”

I love the CSK celebration! There are so many fabulous memories! An early memory that still stays with me is from Orlando 2004(?). I had a meeting to attend and was worried. Ashley Bryan was the final speaker. I had never heard him speak and had decided to leave. Just when I stood up, my path got blocked and Ashley was at the podium. And I learned what everyone in the family already knew: You NEVER leave when Ashley speaks!